Life began feeling so much better after I began embracing my uniqueness and stopped trying to blend in with others and instead continued to water the aspects of me that feel effortless. My racial ambiguity, my overachieving mindset, my sense of fashion and aesthetic likes, my values and beliefs, the way I carry myself, how I structure my relationships and my life, etc. Trying to fit in with others breeds inauthenticity, mediocrity, and even resentment. It’s ok if I’m not exactly like the rest and I stand out, there’s beauty in individuality.
Hormone balancing juice:
• Pomegranate: Rich in antioxidants, supports estrogen balance & heart health
• Beetroot: Boosts circulation & helps detox the liver, key for hormone regulation
• Carrots: Supports the liver in flushing out excess estrogen & promotes healthy skin
• Orange: Packed with vitamin C, helps regulate cortisol & improves overall energy
• Ginger: Reduces inflammation & aids digestion, which is crucial for balanced hormones
Additional ingredients you can add:
• Turmeric: Anti inflammatory & supports liver detox, helping regulate hormones
• Apple: Adds natural sweetness, fiber & supports liver health
• Lemon: Boosts digestion & further helps with liver detox, supporting hormone balance
• Flaxseeds: Rich in omega 3s which help regulate estrogen levels
• Cucumber: Hydrating & soothing, helps flush toxins and balance hormones
• Spinach or Kale: Provides essential nutrients like magnesium, which supports hormone regulation & reduces stress
i dont like being rushed to do something, if I say imma do it, relax
4 ways to use ginger 🫚 to heal blemishes
Ginger can be used in several ways to help with blemishes due to its anti inflammatory & antioxidant properties
🫚 Topical Ginger Mask
Fresh ginger, honey, and lemon juice.
Ginger reduces inflammation & redness, honey hydrates and heals the skin, while lemon juice brightens dark spots
Instructions: Grate a small piece of fresh ginger. Mix with 1 tbsp of honey & a few drops of lemon juice, apply to affected areas and leave for 10-15 mins
🫚 Ginger Toner
This helps reduce inflammation and prevents breakouts due to its antibacterial properties
Ingredients: Fresh ginger juice and water
Instructions: Extract the juice from fresh ginger by blending or grating & then squeezing through a cloth. Dilute the ginger juice with equal parts water. Using a cotton pad, gently apply the solution to blemish-prone areas. Let it sit for 5-10 mins
🫚 Ginger Tea for Internal Benefits
This helps reduce inflammation internally, which can improve skin clarity over time
Instructions: Boil a few slices of fresh ginger in water for 10 minutes. Strain and drink as tea, optionally adding honey or lemon for taste
🫚 Ginger Essential Oil
Ginger essential oil can reduce inflammation & fight bacteria on the skin
Instructions: Mix a few drops of essential oil with a carrier oil (like jojoba or coconut oil). Apply to blemishes as a spot treatment
Money changes things because if you get your heart broken or something fails, you’re just like it was an experience lol. It’s disappointing but oh well. Tomorrow’s another day. When you’re broke, everything is a big deal because your entire identity and life is wrapped up in one thing (like your relationship or a career or your hobbies or whatever) because you literally have nothing else so you have to force it to work.
Having money doesn’t solve every problem, but it sure does help. It gives you options, resources, and a safety net that can make navigating life’s challenges a little easier.
Being attractive isn’t everything, but it sure does help. It can open doors, create opportunities, and make first impressions smoother, even if what truly matters lies beneath the surface.
Getting an education won’t make you rich, but it sure does help. It broadens your perspective, builds critical skills, and often gives you a stepping stone toward better opportunities.
Having connections doesn’t guarantee success, but it sure does help. The right network can support you, introduce you to new opportunities, and guide you through challenges.
Having discipline won’t make you immune to setbacks, but it sure does help. It allows you to stay consistent, overcome obstacles, and turn goals into achievements.
Having confidence doesn’t mean you’ll never doubt yourself, but it sure does help. Believing in your worth and abilities can carry you through uncertainty and help you advocate for what you deserve.
The truth is, none of these guarantees a perfect life, but each one plays a role in shaping your journey, helping you rise above challenges and reach your potential.
hey! so i was wondering: what are some things that you’ll always buy high end/spend more money on vs things that you’ll save on/buy cheap.
love your blog!
Spend on:
Bras: I cannot say it more emphatically; the quality of your bra will determine the quality of your entire look. If you want to look your best you have got to invest in a great quality bra that fits you perfectly. This is non-negotiable.
Nail polish: Because you don't want to spend 30 minutes applying a $1 nail polish that's going to chip after a few hours. It's best to invest in the nail polish brands that are a bit pricier but last longer because it's ultimately going to be a great investment of your time.
Bed sheets: High thread count sheets are ultimately indispensable- they last longer, wash better & they ultimately feel better. Sleep quality is one of the most important things you can invest in and I promise you great quality sheets will contribute to a better night's sleep.
Cookware: Specifically a great set of knives and pots/pans will take you a longggg way. Since I've begun taking my cooking seriously I've invested in better cookware and I swear on everything my food tastes and looks MUCH better.
Stilettos: I can't quantify the number of times I've had to leave an event early because my feet were literally screaming on account of me wearing cheap stilettos. Trust me, it's not worth it. Spend some time researching great quality shoes that are well reviewed and save yourself money and hours of excruciating pain.
Jeans: When jeans are of great quality, it shows. They hug you better, they conceal imperfections, and they can last decades. I have less than 10 pairs of jeans in total and I don't think I'll ever need any more because the ones I have are high quality and will last forever.
Hair extensions: I've had to learn the hard way that high quality human hair costs money. Yes, you can find a synthetic or virgin wig online for under $200 but within a couple of weeks, it's going to start shedding like crazy and falling apart when you put heat on it. I strongly encourage investing in one or two really high quality wigs/weaves/clip-ins, etc. that are made from raw human hair because they will last you years and save you a ton of money in the long run. The wig I'm currently wearing cost me well over $1000 but I never have to take it off, I've colored it several times with no issue, and it's going to last me years.
Save on:
Makeup products: Makeup isn't that complicated and there's no reason why you should be spending $60+ on a foundation that is made from the same ingredients as most other foundations. I'm not saying that all expensive makeup brands aren't worth their price, but I am saying that you can find perfectly great makeup products at your local convenience store. I recently returned one of my favorite Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks because I took a trip to Primark and found that their $2 lipsticks are WAY creamier, longer lasting, and complimentary on dark skin.
Workout clothes: No, you don't need to spend $80 on a pair of lululemon leggings to have a great workout, especially when there are a ton of brands that are much cheaper and provide higher quality options. And honestly, I'm a big fan of the "random-t-shirt-and-leggings-I-found-at-a-thrift-shop" workout look because I'm not trying to impress anyone at the gym and I'd rather spend my money elsewhere.
Skincare products: Similar to makeup products, the ingredients that actually matter (retionoids, vitamin c, exfoliants, & SPF) are not that expensive so you don't actually need to spend an astronomical amount to get high quality skincare. When looking for skincare products, focus less on price and more on finding ingredients that work for your skin.
Books: In today's day and age it's really not necessary to be paying $20+ on a book that you can likely access online or second-hand. So before running to Barns and Noble to find your next book, head to a local thrift shop or parous through online stores.
Designer items: Because frankly, no one's gonna know nor care whether or not you're carrying the real Chanel classic flap or the fake one you got on DhGate for $75. Unless you can very comfortably drop thousands on a single piece of clothing or accessory, you should just go ahead and have your cake and eat it too by buying the high quality replica version.
Lovingly,
Elle
#study tips
General Plan:
Weeks 1 and 2: Purpose:
Learn the fundamentals sentence construction
Learn how to spell and count
Start building a phrase stockpile with basic greetings
The Alphabet
Numbers 1 - 100
Subject Pronouns
Common Greetings
Conjugate the Two Most Important Verbs: to be and to have
Basic Definite and Indefinite Articles
Weeks 3 and 4: Purpose:
Learn essential vocabulary for the day-to-day
Start conjugating regular verbs
Days of the Week and Months of the Year
How to tell the time
How to talk about the weather
Family Vocabulary
Present Tense Conjugations Verbs
Weeks 5 and 6: Purpose:
Warm up with the last of the day-to-day vocabulary
Add more complex types of sentences to your grammar
Colours
House vocabulary
How to ask questions
Present Tense Conjugations Verbs
Forming negatives
Weeks 7 and 8: Purpose:
Learn how to navigate basic situations in a region of your target language country
Finish memorising regular conjugation rules
Food Vocabulary and Ordering at Restaurants
Money and Shopping Phrases
Present Tense Conjugations Verbs
Weeks 9 and 10: Purpose:
Start constructing descriptive and more complex sentences
Adjectives
Reflective verbs
Places vocabulary
Weeks 11 and 12: Purpose:
Add more complex descriptions to your sentences with adverbs
Wrap up vocabulary essentials
Adverbs
Parts of the body and medical vocabulary
Tips for Learning a Foreign Language:
Learning Vocabulary:
What vocabulary should I be learning?
There are hundreds of thousands of words in every language, and the large majority of them won’t be immediately relevant to you when you’re starting out.Typically, the most frequent 3000 words make up 90% of the language that a native speaker uses on any given day. Instead try to learn the most useful words in a language, and then expand outwards from there according to your needs and interests.
Choose the words you want/need to learn.
Relate them to what you already know.
Review them until they’ve reached your long-term memory.
Record them so learning is never lost.
Use them in meaningful human conversation and communication.
How should I record the vocabulary?
Learners need to see and/or hear a new word of phrase 6 to 17 times before they really know a piece of vocabulary.
Keep a careful record of new vocabulary.
Record the vocabulary in a way that is helpful to you and will ensure that you will practice the vocabulary, e.g. flashcards.
Vocabulary should be organised so that words are easier to find, e.g. alphabetically or according to topic.
Ideally when noting vocabulary you should write down not only the meaning, but the grammatical class, and example in a sentence, and where needed information about structure.
How should I practice using the vocabulary?
Look, Say, Cover, Write and Check - Use this method for learning and remembering vocabulary. This method is really good for learning spellings.
Make flashcards. Write the vocabulary on the front with the definition and examples on the back.
Draw mind maps or make visual representations of the new vocabulary groups.
Stick labels or post it notes on corresponding objects, e.g when learning kitchen vocabulary you could label items in your house.
How often should I be practising vocabulary?
A valuable technique is ‘the principle of expanding rehearsal’. This means reviewing vocabulary shortly after first learning them then at increasingly longer intervals.
Ideally, words should be reviewed:
5-10 minutes later
24 hours later
One week later
1-2 months later
6 months later
Knowing a vocabulary item well enough to use it productively means knowing:
Its written and spoken forms (spelling and pronunciation).
Its grammatical category and other grammatical information
Related words and word families, e.g. adjective, adverb, verb, noun.
Common collocations (Words that often come before or after it).
Receptive Skills: Listening and Reading
Reading is probably one of the most effective ways of building vocabulary knowledge.
Listening is also important because it occupies a big chunk of the time we spend communicating.
Tips for reading in a foreign language:
Start basic and small. Children’s books are great practice for beginners. Don’t try to dive into a novel or newspaper too early, since it can be discouraging and time consuming if you have to look up every other word.
Read things you’ve already read in your native language. The fact that you at least know the gist of the story will help you to pick up context clues, learn new vocabulary and grammatical constructions.
Read books with their accompanying audio books. Reading a book while listening to the accompanying audio will improve your “ear training”. It will also help you to learn the pronunciation of words.
Tips for listening in a foreign language:
Watch films in your target language.
Read a book while also listening along to the audio book version.
Listen to the radio in your target language.
Watch videos online in your target language.
Activities to do to show that you’ve understood what you’ve been listening to:
Try drawing a picture of what was said.
Ask yourself some questions about it and try to answer them.
Provide a summary of what was said.
Suggest what might come next in the “story.”
Translate what was said into another language.
“Talk back” to the speaker to engage in imaginary conversation.
Productive Skills: Speaking and Writing
Tips for speaking in a foreign language:
If you can, try to speak the language every day either out loud to yourself or chat to another native speaker whether it is a colleague, a friend, a tutor or a language exchange partner.
Write a list of topics and think about what you could say about each one. First you could write out your thoughts and then read them out loud. Look up the words you don’t know. You could also come up with questions at the end to ask someone else.
A really good way to improve your own speaking is to listen to how native speakers talk and imitate their accent, their rhythm of speech and tone of voice. Watch how their lips move and pay attention to the stressed sounds. You could watch interviews on YouTube or online news websites and pause every so often to copy what you have just heard. You could even sing along to songs sung in the target language.
Walk around the house and describe what you say. Say what you like or dislike about the room or the furniture or the decor. Talk about what you want to change.This gets you to practise every day vocabulary.
Tips for writing in a foreign language:
Practice writing in your target language. Keep it simple to start with. Beginner vocabulary and grammar concepts are generally very descriptive and concrete.
Practice writing by hand. Here are some things you can write out by hand:
Diary entries
Shopping lists
Reminders
What could I write about?
Write about your day, an interesting event, how you’re feeling, or what you’re thinking.
Make up a conversation between two people.
Write a letter to a friend, yourself, or a celebrity. You don’t need to send it; just writing it will be helpful.
Translate a text you’ve written in your native language into your foreign language.
Write a review or a book you’ve recently read or a film you’ve recently watched.
Write Facebook statuses, Tweets or Tumblr posts (whether you post them or not will be up to you).
Write a short story or poem.
Writing is one of the hardest things to do well as a non-native speaker of a language, because there’s no room to hide.
There are lots of ways to improve your writing ability, but they can be essentially boiled down to three key components:
Read a lot
Write a lot
Get your writing corrected
“You often feel tired, not because you’ve done too much, but because you’ve done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
— Unknown